Oct 28, 2022
here are the other memes i edited for my friend's 2012 × rottmnt crossover chatfic that I'm betaing for lol
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here are the other memes i edited for my friend's 2012 × rottmnt crossover chatfic that I'm betaing for lol
OKAY HELP THIS IS MY SECONDARY AU TO SMGS BUT I LOVE IT TOO MUCH OK HOLD ON LET ME EXPLAIN (the future title is Bonds Pulled Taught Often Snap btw!!) Also I am seriously PRAAAAYING please y'all send me asks about this au I need to talk about it so bad TLDR; Villain Mikey w/ the Kraang, time is weird and he ends up as a 25 year old BETTER SUM-UP BELOW!!
More in depth summary (STILL SKIPS A LOT); Mikey makes his way to Dimension X early, Kraang see how well he fares there after he escapes them, so they propose a deal to him that appeals to everything he loves (keeping his loved ones safe, no humans getting hurt [to his knowledge], free pizza, peace between his family and Kraang, etc etc) and manipulates him into thinking they're the good guys. So Mikey eventually joins them, and tries very hard many times to get his brothers to, eventually having less of a "I want to help" mindset and more of a "I'll prove I'm right, I know I'm right, why won't these assholes listen to me" mindset. At one point Leo screws up and uh oh goodbye left eye- any bad event, so Mikey retreats to DImension X for 2 months BUT THAT'S 10 YEARS IN DIMENSION X SO HE COMES BACK LIKE THIS AND YES
Any 2012 TMNT Casey Jones fans following me? I’ve got an ongoing AU series on AO3 where I give Casey a backstory, a family that actually exists, and magic
https://archiveofourown.org/series/2369581
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
made this for the chatfic my friend is writing (which is a 2012 × rottmnt crossover chatfic) but we realized it can't be sent in the chat yet bc they haven't revealed what they look like to each other yet (which will be happening in a future chapter) so i had to edit the characters out of the meme. however, we figured the readers would still enjoy the meme (and i felt that the rottmnt side of Tumblr would like it as well) so i decided to post it here and have them put a link in the notes of the fic lol
Not as Thick as Blood (2012 TMNT Fic)
Chapter 2/2, 5k words
Summary:
“What if he found something bad in his DNA test?” “Bad? Like what?” Leo asked, and Mikey shrugged, but Raph’s face grew dark. “Like a disease? Or maybe he found out that our expected lifespan is only, like, 20 years or something,” Raph mumbled, not taking his eyes off the screen. --- Donnie gets curious about his and his brothers' genetic makeup. He ends up finding something he didn't expect, and Mikey feels like his entire world has been thrown off balance.
Read Chapter 1 here
Read on AO3 here or find the chapter below the cut
It was almost impossible for Mikey to get out of bed a few short hours later. His alarm pierced his ears, causing his head to throb as he fumbled with his phone, desperate to shut it off. When he managed to silence the unforgiving noise, he felt himself being coaxed back into sleep by the blessed silence, but he knew he had to fight it. If he went back to sleep, Leo would have to come wake him, and he was already anticipating that today wouldn’t be a good one. He needed to get up. He couldn’t make things worse… He had to… had to…
His whole body felt heavy, and despite trying to get himself to move, he couldn’t find the energy. He dozed, his consciousness slipping against his will, until a jolt of panic surged through his body, and he pushed himself up suddenly. He had to get up. No more sleeping.
He looked at his phone and grimaced. He’d somehow fallen asleep for another 20 minutes. Everyone else would be eating breakfast, left to provide themselves with something since he wasn’t there. Grimacing, he forced himself to stand up, grab his mask, and head out of his room. Maybe he could still salvage things? It wasn’t like he made breakfast every single day.
His body seemed to move on autopilot as he walked to the kitchen, tying the orange fabric around his head in an attempt to seem normal. He was tightening the ends into the bow he preferred, about to round the corner into the kitchen when he froze. His brothers’ the other turtles’ voices carried out of the kitchen, their voices hushed as if they were trying to keep from being overheard.
“We have to say something.” That was Leo.
“What are we meant to say?” Raph. He sounded agitated, although that wasn’t out of the ordinary.
A sigh, then Donnie’s voice joined in as well, confirming that all three of them were having a serious conversation without him. “I don’t know, but you know how Mikey is. He feels things stronger than the rest of us. The longer we wait to talk to him, the worse it’ll get.”
Mikey had heard enough. He bolted back to his room, fighting tears, biting his lip in frustration. He knew this was coming, he knew they were going to tell him he wasn’t a part of the family anymore at some point. He’d foolishly hoped that he’d have more time, but now he had to face the truth and get ready to leave. No time for crying.
He'd already made a mental list of the most important things to grab: a warm hoodie, a backpack stuffed with granola bars and bags of chips and a blanket, a handful of first aid supplies, a stuffed elephant Leo had found and given him years ago. He needed to get to the bathroom to grab his toiletries, which meant he was risking getting caught before he could leave, but he’d rather not have to worry about finding a new toothbrush or bar of soap.
Utilizing his ninja training to the best of his abilities, he crept from his room towards the shared bathroom, feeling relieved that voices were still coming from the kitchen. He should be undisturbed—
“Mikey?”
He jumped about three feet in the air and immediately fell into a defensive stance, relaxing only slightly when he saw Leo exiting the bathroom.
“I was starting to get worried since you hadn’t gotten up yet,” Leo said, a crease forming on his forehead as he looked at Mikey with concern. “What are you carrying?”
He fought to keep himself from wincing. He really, really didn’t want Leo to take his supplies. “Um…” He hesitated, trying to think of an explanation, when Leo held out his hand. It didn’t seem to be overly demanding, Leo’s body language calm, but he didn’t know what Mikey was hiding yet. Swallowing his panic down, he slid the bag from his shoulders and placed it in Leo’s waiting hand.
The sound of the zipper opening seemed to echo around the hall, taunting Mikey. What kind of ninja was he, not even making it to the bathroom without getting caught? And now he was going to face the consequences of his own incapability.
Leo rummaged through the bag, Mikey wincing with every crinkle of a food bag. He only observed the contents for a few moments, but it seemed to stretch out for eternity as Mikey waited, petrified, for Leo’s reaction.
Finally, his brother Leo looked up at Mikey, lowering the bag to his side. “Are you going somewhere?”
It wasn’t what Mikey had been expecting him to say, and his brain fumbled for a second to figure out what the appropriate response was. “Um. Yeah. I am.”
Leo’s frown deepened. “You know you’re not allowed to go topside without someone else with you.”
Mikey didn’t know what to say to that, how to explain that Leo didn’t have to worry about him anymore. “I know you sneak out by yourself sometimes,” he said instead, and he forced himself not to facepalm. That wasn’t helping! “Raph does, too.” Shut up, Mikey!
Leo shrugged. “I guess we do. We never plan on staying out for long, though. Not long enough that we’d bring food and bandages.”
“I’m always hungry, and I’m a klutz, I’m just being prepared.” Mikey was starting to get a headache. If it was from lack of sleep, or irritation, or stress, Mikey didn’t know. He just wanted to leave.
Well, no. He didn’t want to leave. But anything was better than this conversation, right?
Leo reached down into the bag and pulled out the elephant. “And bringing Kiki with you?”
His face flushed in embarrassment, which quickly shifted to anger, and he grabbed the plush toy from Leo’s hand. “Why are you interrogating me? If you’re going to take the stuff from me, just do it.”
“What’s going on?” Donnie’s voice appeared behind Mikey, and he turned around, seeing that Raph was there as well. He gripped Kiki tight as he tried to keep himself from breaking down. Why wouldn’t they let him leave? This was hard enough as it was!
“Why would I take your stuff?” Leo asked, and Mikey’s head pounded. Was that a trick question?
“What stuff?” Raph asked, arms crossed. The bag was passed to him by Leo, and Donnie leaned over to look as Raph examined the contents. “Are you running away?!”
Mikey couldn’t help but flinch at Raph’s tone, loud and angry. But then he got confused. Why was Raph upset? Why… why were any of them upset? Donnie’s expression was one of shock and, perhaps, some underlying pain at Raph’s outburst. Leo just looked worried, eyes studying Mikey in a way that made him want to pull into his shell and never face the world again.
“Mikey, is there a reason you’re trying to leave?”
Mikey forced himself to meet Leo’s eyes, to determine if it was a trick. He didn’t understand. His brothers the other turtles didn’t make sense.
Nothing made sense.
It hadn’t made sense since they’d learned the truth.
That realization felt like it tore through Mikey’s plastron, and he collapsed in on himself, pulling his limbs close to his body as he slid to the floor, just barely managing to remain outside of his shell. He was embarrassed enough as it was.
Shaking as tears started falling, he pulled his knees in towards his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around himself.
Nothing made sense. If he wasn’t their brother, why was he still here? Why was he here in the first place? Did he deserve to be among them? Surely not. He was a mistake. He should have never been mutated in the first place. He wasn’t one of them. Their similarities started and ended with the fact that they were mutant turtles. Why did that hurt so much? Nothing had truly changed, but everything was different nonetheless. And it hurt. It hurt, so so much.
Which was why he had to leave, even if that hurt too. He couldn’t handle the reminder that he was different when his brothers looked at him with those awful glances.
Not his brothers.
He didn’t have any brothers.
He trembled as uncontrollable sobs overtook his body once more, and he began to feel lightheaded. Distantly he noted that he was likely dehydrated after crying the night before, and crying now wasn’t helping him at all.
Just another screw up. Damn it.
Someone was speaking softly, murmurs coming at him from several different directions, but he couldn’t make any words out. His hand was taken into someone else’s, a calloused thumb rubbing over the back of his hand gently as those soothing murmurs continued.
He found himself relaxing eventually, although he had no idea how much time had passed. It was inevitable; he always calmed down when his brothers were there.
His brothers… his former brothers.
“That’s it, Mikey, deep breaths.” Leo’s voice grew clearer.
“You’re okay, Mikey. We’re here.” That was Donnie’s voice.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Came Raph’s voice, softer than Mikey had heard it since Leo’s coma. “And we’re not letting you go anywhere, either.”
That cleared his thoughts a little, and he remembered what was going on. He coughed wetly, clearing his throat, and sniffled. “You don’t have to,” he told the other three weakly. “I’ll be okay, and you won’t have to deal with me being around.”
The world was still a bit blurry, but he could tell that each of his brothers—the brothers expressions shifted at his words.
Raph’s was easiest to read. His eyes sparked with anger, but it was put out quickly. “Of course we want you around, why wouldn’t we?” His voice was still soft, gentle, but it wavered a little.
“Mikey,” Leo added, “we don’t ‘deal’ with you.”
“Sometimes you annoy us,” Donnie continued, “but that’s just how brothers act. We all annoy each other sometimes.”
Mikey frowned. Surely Donnie hadn’t forgotten…? “But… but I’m not… I’m not…”
There were strong arms around him suddenly, pulling him into a tight embrace. Raph’s face was pressed into Mikey’s shoulder, muffling his words some, but he was still able to catch what he said. “Screw Donnie’s bullshit DNA test, Mikey. I don’t give a fuck what genetics say, you’re my little brother.” There was something uncharacteristically desperate to Raph’s tone.
It took Mikey several beats to process what Raph had said, and in that time, two more bodies had surrounded him, Leo and Donnie wrapping their arms around him as well, leaving Mikey at the center of the three of them.
“You’re our little brother,” Leo insisted, his voice cracking… was he crying?
They stayed like that as Mikey’s brain worked through what was going on. Suppressed sobs from multiple sources filled his ears.
Nothing made sense.
“But… but why would you want me to be?” is what he finally asked, unsure of how else to react to the situation. Then he yelped as something lightly hit his arm, taking him by surprise. Raph was nearly growling, and Mikey was almost scared.
“Don’t you dare say that ever again, okay?!” Raph demanded. “Of course we want you to be our brother! Just like you have been our whole lives!”
Donnie sniffed, then added quietly, “Well… unless you don’t want to be our brother. Um. In which case…”
“Donnie,” Leo cut in gently, but Mikey was shaking his head emphatically at the suggestion.
“No, I—I want to be your brother,” Mikey managed to say, hoping it was alright to want that. Even if he probably didn’t deserve it.
Arms tightened around him even further, and the four turtles seemed to let out a collective sigh. “Alright then, little brother,” Leo said, and Mikey couldn’t help the small, watery, tentatively hopeful smile it caused to form on his face, “why don’t we get you some breakfast? You must be hungry.”
“Mmm.” He was, but he didn’t want to move yet. It was nice like this, his… his brothers surrounding him tightly, like a protective barrier from the awfulness that had been the past few days. But, inevitably, his stomach growled, and one by one the others, his brothers, pulled away. But they all stayed within an arm’s length, and if he reached out, he could grasp any of their hands if he wanted. Things still felt shaky though, and he didn’t want to push his luck. They could still change their minds, a voice in the back of his head whispered to him, but he tried to ignore it as he pushed himself to his feet.
Leo patted him on the shoulder and gave him a watery smile of his own, which Mikey managed to return. “How does an omelet sound?”
“Sounds like something I’m not letting you anywhere near,” Raph replied before Mikey had a chance. “Burning down the lair is not gonna make today any better.”
Leo rolled his eyes and commented something about how his cooking wasn’t that bad, while Raph shot back a remark about the time he’d broken the toaster so severely Donnie could barely fix it. They pushed each other lightly as they argued, the conflict far from serious. Mikey was glad they were acting like themselves again; he hadn’t noticed, but this had been missing since Donnie’s test results had been shared. The mood across the whole lair had shifted. It was a relief to see things going back to normal.
Well, at least in terms of the elder two. Donnie, who trailed behind Mikey as the group made their way to the kitchen, was quiet. He’d been quieter than the others during Mikey’s breakdown, too.
“Alright, Mikey, what’s going in your omelet?” Raph asked as he opened the fridge, which pushed the thoughts of Donnie’s behavior from his mind. Okay, he really was starving.
He sat down after giving Raph his request, and listened as Leo and Raph chatted, with an occasional comment from himself or Donnie.
Things didn’t feel quite like they used to, but at least Mikey didn’t have to leave now. He could stay, which meant that everything else could be figured out later.
===
“Everything else” happened to include training. Despite not being present for what had occurred earlier, Splinter seemed to be aware that something had changed in Mikey’s behavior. Unfortunately, despite his brothers’ help earlier (and they were his brothers, they kept reassuring him), he was still feeling inadequate when it came to ninjutsu.
His brothers had the DNA of a great ninja master in their blood. Mikey did not. It made sense why he wasn’t as good as them, and he’d been trying to accept that there was nothing that could be done to make up for his genetic disadvantage. He could work as hard as possible, and he still wouldn’t be able to keep up with their inherent abilities.
“Michelangelo,” Master Splinter’s voice rang out through the dojo, “you will face me alone today.”
Oh, great. Just what he wanted, on top of everything else, now he was going to be humiliated. He couldn’t refuse sensei, though, so he stood up from his seiza and shifted into a fighting stance, one that was more defensive. He stood no chance against sensei, so his best bet was to try to last as long as he could.
“Hajime!”
He braced himself…
And Splinter did not move.
He wanted to groan. He hated when sensei did this, forced them to be offensive. Gripping his nunchaku tightly, he advanced on Splinter, trying to find an opening. Of course, there were none, so he was left blindly attacking whatever part of Splinter he could reach, hoping that one of his hits landed in a way that could give him an advantage.
Not four seconds later, he was on the floor, gasping to refill his lungs as the air had been knocked out of him when he fell.
He waited for Splinter to call the end of the spar, confused when the order didn’t come. He pushed himself onto his knees, and was halfway to his feet when the world flipped and he was sent to the floor once more.
The order didn’t come again.
He wanted to scream. He was already being humiliated, and now Splinter was dragging it out? All while the others watched? What if his failure was what caused them to change their minds about wanting him?
He was a little more strategic with the way he attempted to return to his feet this time, rolling away from where Splinter was and coming up on one knee, bracing himself for an incoming attack he could dodge before leaving himself vulnerable by trying to stand. When none came, he brought himself to his feet and immediately darted to the side. Sensei was still not attacking directly, so Mikey approached, feinting an attack to his face before shifting his body down low, attempting to knock Splinter off balance.
It didn’t work, and Mikey once again found himself on the ground. He was getting frustrated.
No order to stop came.
He forced himself back up, covering his vulnerabilities as he did so, before flipping backwards, putting space between himself and Splinter. It gave him a chance to study his sensei, but no obvious openings were visible to him still.
Which meant he had to make one.
He darted for Splinter, getting within reach before rolling to the side, swinging his nunchaku out. He was trying to make it appear as if he was trying to catch sensei’s arm in the chains to pull him off balance, but it was a misdirection. Now, Splinter just needed to fall for it, and…
There!
He brought his knee up, determined to end this however he could, and struck his sensei right in the balls.
Splinter might be a master ninja, but even he was not immune to such an action. He did not double over or cry out in pain, but his movements stuttered, leaving Mikey an opening to force Splinter off balance, this time succeeding. Splinter did not go crashing to the ground, but Mikey managed to get a jab at his side, causing Splinter’s balance to slip from him further, before Mikey finished by using his nunchaku chain to wrap around sensei’s leg. He pulled, and Splinter went down.
A few moments passed where everything seemed to freeze in the dojo, before Splinter finally let out the order. “Yame.”
There was a pause, and then three cheers echoed off the dojo walls, his brothers exclaiming excitedly over Mikey’s victory.
“That was insane!” Leo praised, and Mikey had to stop himself from preening. This wasn’t earned praise.
“I only won because I broke the rules,” Mikey said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
Splinter had risen to his feet and placed a hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “While the use of, ahem, the specific strategy you utilized is not strictly ninjutsu, the ability to adapt to your own abilities to win a fight, especially against a more skilled opponent, is something you have always excelled at, Michelangelo.” He smiled. “I don’t believe your brothers would have utilized such a move against me, even if it were their only chance at victory.”
“So… I did good?”
“Yes, my son. But please do not make a habit of targeting… that specific area during training.”
Mikey barely heard the second part, because his brain had nearly shut down at the word “son”. Splinter still thought of Mikey as his son. Splinter was still his father.
He had no idea how worried he’d been about that until it had been said aloud.
Training continued, but Mikey didn’t feel fully present for it. Fortunately, he wasn’t subjected to any more sparring, and working through his katas was something he could do in his sleep after 15 years of working on them.
Then training was over, and Splinter dismissed them.
“Michelangelo,” Splinter called out before he could leave, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Doubt and hesitation are deadly enemies. You only managed to claim victory today because your frustration overshadowed your fears. A true foe will not allow time for your frustration to grow. You must be confident in yourself and in your abilities.”
Mikey looked down. “Hai, sensei. I just…” He didn’t know how to explain his feelings.
“You have spent just as many years training in ninjutsu as your brothers. Their skill has nothing to do with any blood relation they might have to me, and yours does not depend on that factor either.” Splinter once again placed a comforting hand on Mikey’s shoulders. “You are incredibly strong and talented, my son, just as much as your brothers. Where you falter is in a lack of dedication, which has nothing to do with the source of your DNA.”
He'd known about his dedication issue; it was not news to him. But it had been easier to blame his shortcomings on something outside of his control. He felt himself flush with shame as he nodded. “I understand.”
“I believe that, were you to devote yourself fully to the art, you could become the most formidable out of your brothers,” Splinter told him, and although his tone seemed deathly serious, Mikey couldn’t fully believe that. Really, him? He was nowhere close to the others’ levels.
“Thank you, sensei,” he said instead. Splinter smiled softly.
“I am proud of you, my son,” Splinter told him. “And I cannot wait to see how you thrive as you grow.”
Mikey leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Splinter, letting out a small, content sigh when his father’s arms tightened around him in return.
===
Things got easier. Constant verbal acknowledgements that Mikey was their brother, encouragement from one of them to prank the others, even just small things like letting Mikey choose what game to play were among the minor but meaningful changes his brothers made to reassure Mikey that he belonged, that he was wanted. That he was loved.
It had been a few weeks, and Mikey had been sleeping better, no longer plagued with worries about being cast out by his family. He beat Donnie a few times in training, and even managed to outdo Raph once.
“You’re next, Leo!” Mikey had promised, and Leo had scoffed and insisted it wasn’t ever going to happen, but there was a grin on his face when he said it.
There was still something bothering him though. And it was something he didn’t know how to fix, or what he was supposed to do about.
Donnie was avoiding him.
Sure, he wasn’t leaving the room the second Mikey walked in, or refusing to respond to direct questions or comments Mikey sent in his direction, but he never initiated conversations, and always kept what he said in response to Mikey’s efforts curt and with little room for further discussion. And while Leo and Raph had stopped giving Mikey those awful, awful looks, Donnie still did from time to time.
Donnie probably thought Mikey hadn’t seen. He wasn’t as sneaky with the glances as he thought.
When Donnie announced, once again, that he was retiring to his lab rather than joining the rest of them for a movie, Mikey couldn’t keep ignoring it. He groaned, maybe a little bit overdramatically, and asked, “What is his problem? Why can’t he just tell me whatever it is I’m doing that’s making him want to avoid me so I can stop doing it!”
“You’re not doing anything,” Leo told him. “He should talk to you.”
“Yeah, well, try telling him that!” Mikey groaned again, pressing his face into the couch cushion as he rearranged himself, sprawling out so that he took up most of the space. Raph grunted and shoved him back, but Mikey didn’t move.
“He’ll come around,” Raph said. “Now stop taking up all my space.”
Mikey sighed and sat back up, trying to push thoughts of Donnie from his mind so he could focus on the movie.
===
Two days later, there was a knock on his door. Mikey was mildly surprised to see Donnie lean his head in.
“Hey, Mikey. Can we talk?”
He’d been better about getting worried about his family deciding he wasn’t wanted, but he couldn’t help the fear he felt at Donnie’s words. The anxious way Donnie was standing meant that the conversation couldn’t be anything good.
“Sure,” Mikey told him anyway, pretending that he thought he could handle whatever was about to be said.
Donnie seemed to be slightly relieved that he’d been granted entry, and he shuffled in awkwardly, sitting down on the end of Mikey’s bed, a full two feet between them.
It felt very different from the night a few weeks ago when Mikey had made Donnie drop his mug, but somehow it also felt the same.
“Um…” Donnie’s hands were fidgeting, and he was staring at the floor. “Okay, I’m not really sure where to start, but I guess… I owe you an apology.”
Mikey blinked. “For what?”
Donnie let out a bitter laugh, one Mikey couldn’t understand the meaning of. “A lot of things. For doing the DNA test in the first place, for telling everyone what I found, for avoiding you because I was scared that you hated me…”
“Wait, hold on, what?” Mikey leaned towards Donnie, only half aware he was doing so. “You thought I would hate you? Why would I do that?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Donnie insisted. “I told you something that basically changed your whole worldview, and I know you have been struggling since you learned about it. And that was my fault.”
Donnie looked so ashamed, and Mikey was pretty sure he was close to tears. Which, nope, Mikey was all done with tears. There had been enough crying over this whole situation already, and he wasn’t going to put up with any more of it. “How was it your fault that your test told you something you didn’t know? Wasn’t that the whole point of doing it?”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“Look, Dee, you didn’t know what the test was going to find, so stop blaming yourself.”
“I shouldn’t have done it in the first place! I should have realized that there was a possibility of an outcome like this and thought better before I let my curiosity get out of hand!”
“Hey.” Mikey gently placed his hands on the sides of Donnie’s face and forced his brother to look at him. “Sometimes you do dumb science things because you’re curious. Like the time you were messing with April’s psychic powers at the farmhouse, and she got her brain fused with that bird mutant. That doesn’t mean I’m mad at you, okay?”
Donnie didn’t look like he believed Mikey. Shit, he needed to be more convincing.
“Honestly,” he continued, “the thing I’m most upset about is the way you keep looking at me.” His voice grew quieter as he debated admitting what he was about to say next, but he figured sharing the fear was a better way of dealing with it than ignoring it. “It’s like you see me differently, even if you say I’m still your brother.”
Donnie’s eyes went wide. “What—no, no, Mikey, that’s not it at all!” He grasped Mikey’s hands tightly, as if he could convey his thoughts through the physical bond. “I felt so guilty about the entire thing, I didn’t know how to deal with it. I was worried that it would make you feel different, even though nothing had changed, and… and I guess I was so scared of that, I started treating you differently anyway.” He bowed his head. “I did the exact thing that could make this whole mess worse. I’m such an idiot.”
“Hey,” Mikey snapped. “You’re a lot of things, Dee, but you’re not an idiot. You’re the smartest person I know. Sometimes you do dumb things, especially with other people’s feelings, but you’re not an idiot.” He pulled Donnie into a loose hug, rubbing his hand on his shell, mirroring the comforting action Donnie had provided him with a few weeks ago. “I don’t hate you, so stop hating yourself, okay?”
Because that was the whole issue, wasn’t it? Donnie had been hating himself for everything that had happened. For Mikey’s reactions, for doing the DNA test in the first place, all of it.
Mikey had been a wreck since that day. It hadn’t dawned on him until that moment that Donnie could be just as much of a mess.
His brother sniffed, leaning his head on Mikey’s shoulder. “I messed everything up,” he insisted weakly.
“Nah,” Mikey told him simply. “And even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed.”
The two of them sat together like that, perched on the edge of Mikey’s bed, breathing together and not releasing the hold they had on each other. A part of Mikey laughed at his past mindset; how could he have ever thought that he wasn’t their brother? The awkward yet comforting conversation with Donnie was one that could only happen between siblings.
“Are you okay?” Donnie asked once the silence had stretched on for a while.
Mikey nodded, and found that it was honest. “Are you?”
Donnie nodded back. “I really am sorry, by the way.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t mean to treat you different.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think of you any differently than I did before.”
“I—”
“If you say ‘I know’ again, I’m leaving.”
Mikey laughed, tightening his hug slightly before letting Donnie go. His brother’s eyes were a little bit red and puffy; oh well, guess tears hadn’t been entirely avoided. But Donnie was meeting Mikey’s eyes easily now, and there was a spark of humor in them that had been desperately missed.
“Do you want to watch Crognard with me?”
Donnie smiled, accepting Mikey’s hand after he had stood up, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet as well. “That sounds great.”
They went to exit Mikey’s room, but he stopped in the doorway. “Hold on!” He rushed back inside and headed to the corner where a bag had been discarded. He pulled out the two bags of chips that still remained weeks after they’d been put there and passed one to Donnie. “Can’t watch Crognard without our snacks!”
The two of them, in much higher spirits than they’d been before, made their way out to the television, where they were joined by their other brothers, the four of them settling down together as they turned on the show.
A bag, now empty, sat forgotten and unneeded in Mikey’s room. He didn’t have anywhere to go. He belonged right here.
Not as Thick as Blood (2012 TMNT Fic)
Chapter 1/2, 5k words
Summary:
“What if he found something bad in his DNA test?” “Bad? Like what?” Leo asked, and Mikey shrugged, but Raph’s face grew dark. “Like a disease? Or maybe he found out that our expected lifespan is only, like, 20 years or something,” Raph mumbled, not taking his eyes off the screen. --- Donnie gets curious about his and his brothers' genetic makeup. He ends up finding something he didn't expect, and Mikey feels like his entire world has been thrown off balance.
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Mikey wasn’t the type to question things. Even when he didn’t understand the point of something, he trusted his brothers, so most of the time it was easier to just go along with what they told him.
With that said, he didn’t understand why Donnie wanted to stick a cotton swab in his mouth.
“You don’t understand, Mikey! With the new DNA analyzing kit I managed to snag from Stockman’s lab the last time we fought, I could learn so much about our unique biological makeup!” Donnie exclaimed, practically vibrating out of excitement.
Mikey just pouted. “What does that have to do with putting a stick in my mouth?”
“That’s how I get the DNA,” Donnie explained, buzzing with anticipation and perhaps a bit of annoyance now as well. “I already did the same to myself, and I’ll be asking Leo, Raph, and Sensei for a sample as well!”
Hearing that this wasn’t a test he alone was forced to undergo, Mikey shrugged and opened his mouth, bracing himself for the unpleasant feeling of a foreign object being stuck down his throat like the one time he’d been sick. Instead, it was rubbed against the inside of his right cheek for a few seconds before removed and placed in a test tube.
“Thanks, Mikey!” Donnie shouted, already speeding off to locate the rest of the lair’s occupants. Mikey blinked for a few seconds, surprised at how simple that had been, before deciding it didn’t matter much and flopping down on his bed, picking up the comic book he’d been reading before Donnie barged in excitedly.
If it made Donnie happy, Mikey didn’t have any complaints.
===
By the next morning, Mikey had essentially forgotten about Donnie’s actions the afternoon prior. While he was certain his scientifically minded brother would find something to be excited about over some icky mouth germs, it wasn’t exactly high on Mikey’s list of interests. What he was interested in, though, was making breakfast.
“And… voila!” he exclaimed as he masterfully flipped a pancake straight from the pan to Leo’s plate, repeating the action for Raph and Donnie before serving himself. “Gentlemen, I give you my not yet world famous banana mozzarella sausage pancakes!”
Expressions of varying degrees of wariness and disgust stared back at him, which he ignored, opting instead to sit down in front of his own plate and drizzle his breakfast in syrup before taking a large bite.
He sighed happily as the meal met his tastebuds. Yep, he nailed it again. Hesitantly but politely, Leo cut a slice from his own pancakes and brought it to his mouth, his expression morphing into one of confusion and then intrigue, before settling on something positive. Upon seeing Leo’s approval, Raph and Don took bites themselves, and Mikey was beaming when they both seemed to at least tolerate his latest creation.
“I have no idea how you made this work, Mikey, but it’s not half bad,” Leo admitted as they each continued munching away at the atypical breakfast.
Mikey grinned through a mouthful. “Hey, I have my secrets, bro!”
“Clearly those secrets don’t include swallowing before you talk,” Raph grumbled, but even he seemed to be in a good mood that morning. It was shaping up to be a good day, and when everyone had finished eating, they made their way to the dojo together.
===
Training went well. Mikey actually won a match against Donnie, which, while not unheard of, was definitely less common than Donnie winning against him. Mikey couldn’t hold back an enthusiastic cry of victory, pumping his fist in the air before helping Donnie to his feet. “Did’ya see that? I out-ninja’d you, bro!”
Donnie rolled his eyes. “Don’t get too confident, Mikey. You only won because I was distracted.”
“By what?” Leo asked as he accepted a high-three from Mikey, who was still feeling the adrenaline from his victory.
A long, high-pitched beep sounded from across the lair, in the direction of Donnie’s lab. His brown eyes went wide, and he turned around to face Master Splinter. “By that! Uh, sensei, may I be excused from the rest of training? My samples are ready to be analyzed!”
Splinter stroked his beard thoughtfully. “It is clear that your mind is not fully devoted to training today. You may be excused, but I expect your performance to be back to its normal standards by tomorrow.”
Donnie bowed, gave a quick “Hai, sensei!” and dashed out of the dojo.
“What was that all about?” Mikey asked, confused. It was rare for any of them to be excused from training, and the fact that Mikey had beat him was being attributed only to Donnie being distracted? He’d been training hard lately, ever since the farmhouse, and he’d put his all into the spar against Donnie. Was it so hard to believe that maybe he was getting better?
There was a hand on his shoulder, and Mikey was surprised to see it was Raph. “Don’t worry, little bro,” he was saying, “Donnie’s too focused on his science, but we saw how you won that fight.”
Mikey smiled gratefully.
“Michelangelo, Raphael, you will face each other next,” Master Splinter decided, and they took their stances across from each other, Mikey feeling confident.
He didn’t win, but he got close.
===
“Is Donnie still in his lab?” Mikey questioned as the rest of them headed into the pit to wind down from training around an hour later, noticing a lack of a purple bandana wearing turtle.
Leo shrugged. “I guess not. He was pretty excited about the DNA thing.”
Raph scoffed as he turned on Crognard, the brothers settling on the couch. “He’s always excited about some nerdy shit, why am I not surprised?”
Mikey let out an exaggerated gasp, placing a hand on his plastron and making the best offended look he could manage. “Raph, language! What if Ice Cream Kitty heard you!”
“I couldn’t give a fuck if she heard.”
“Raph! Her poor, innocent ears!”
“Maybe it’s good for her, she can’t stay sheltered forever, right?” Raph smirked, and Mikey playfully shoved at his arm, starting a play fight.
Leo just looked on with a shake of his head, probably letting them get it out of their system. Mikey knew his big brother would intervene if they took things too far or roughhoused too much and risked breaking something. They could get a little bit carried away, he admitted to himself as he and Raph wrestled on the ground, but that’s just how being brothers worked. At the end of the day, everyone would make up and they’d go back to being as close as ever.
Leo must have gotten sick of their fight at some point, though, because he stood up and announced he was making popcorn. “If either of you want some, you better be sitting nicely on the couch when I come back.”
That got the fight to stop pretty quickly, the two of them settling on the couch as the sound of kernels popping from the kitchen met their ears.
“Leo really thinks he’s in charge of us all the time, huh?” Raph said with a small huff, although he didn’t seem particularly upset. “We weren’t even hurting anything just now.”
Mikey shrugged, opening his mouth to respond, but whatever he’d been planning on saying evaporated from his mind immediately when Donnie walked in the room. “Hey, Dee, come watch Crognard with us! Leo’s making popcorn too, so… uh, is something wrong?”
Donnie had entered the room with his head hanging down, which should have been enough of a sign that something was up with him. When he met Mikey’s eyes, though, there was something… off. It was like a shadow had been cast over them. Mikey didn’t get long to tell what it was, because Donnie’s gaze quickly flitted away from Mikey’s after they met for only the briefest of moments, Donnie looking almost as if he’d flinched away.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Donnie insisted, but his tone was off. Too sharp, too guarded. “You said you’re watching Crognard?”
Mikey nodded and patted the cushion next to him. “Come join us!”
Donnie looked between the screen and the couch, his eyes refusing to fall on Mikey again. “Um, that’s okay. I’m going to go find sensei.”
And with that, Donnie left the room in the direction of sensei’s room.
Raph looked at Mikey, his brow creased in confusion. “That was weird, right?”
“What was weird?” Leo asked, holding a bowl of popcorn as he walked back over to his brothers.
Raph and Mikey exchanged a glance before explaining Donnie’s weird behavior, and how something seemed to be bothering him. Leo frowned, and the telltale signs of Leo Worry were visible in the way he crossed his arms and fidgeted with his hands.
“I’ll talk to him when he comes back if he still seems upset. Maybe talking to sensei is all he needs,” Leo told them, but Mikey doubted Donnie was getting away from this without at least having a brief talk with Leo. “Let’s just watch Crognard, okay?”
They each grabbed a handful of popcorn and turned their attention to the show. None of them seemed particularly invested anymore, but no one suggested finding something else to do.
Then a new thought crossed Mikey’s mind, and he broke the silence.
“What if he found something bad in his DNA test?”
“Bad? Like what?” Leo asked, and Mikey shrugged, but Raph’s face grew dark.
“Like a disease? Or maybe he found out that our expected lifespan is only, like, 20 years or something,” Raph mumbled, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“Maybe there’s something wrong with Master Splinter, which is why he went to talk to him?” Mikey suggested, trying not to let his voice shake at the thought. What were they going to do if there was something wrong with sensei?
“Stop,” Leo ordered in his leader voice, and Raph’s mouth snapped shut immediately. “Look, we don’t know what’s wrong with Donnie. Maybe he’s just upset because his experiment didn’t work, have we considered that?”
Mikey thought about it and nodded. That did make sense. He knew how much Donnie’s experiments meant to him, and how excited he’d been for this one. It would definitely upset him if it was messed up in some way.
But why had he been looking at Mikey like that? Or rather… not looking?
Maybe he thought Mikey had messed things up somehow? But that didn’t make sense either. If he thought that, he would have gotten mad at Mikey, not avoided him. Something about the situation wasn’t adding up, and it was because of Mikey, he was sure of it. Afterall, Donnie hadn’t avoided looking at Raph like that.
April and Casey arrived shortly after, although Mikey wasn’t entirely sure how long it had been since Donnie had left to speak with sensei. He’d been watching Crognard, but he hadn’t been truly processing the show, too concerned about the Donnie situation.
“We brought pizza!” Casey shouted, leaning the boxed on the back of the couch as the three present brothers stood up to greet their friends.
“Hi, guys,” April waved. “Where’s Donnie?”
“Talking with Master Splinter,” Leo said, but before he could get further, Donnie and their sensei walked into the room.
Donnie smiled. “Hey, April! And Casey. I heard you brought pizza?” He walked over and took a slice out of the top box, biting into it immediately.
It was fake.
Mikey couldn’t explain how he could tell, but Donnie’s smile was fake. His words were fake. His whole attitude was fake, and whatever was bothering him before was clearly still an issue. He was just trying to hide it now.
Everyone gathered in the kitchen, sitting and passing around slices as April and Casey shared about their days. It seemed like any other afternoon in the Hamato home, but Donnie still wouldn’t even look in Mikey’s direction.
When April mentioned something about biology, Leo’s eyes widened slightly and he looked over at Donnie. “That reminds me, Don, how did the DNA project go?”
Donnie immediately stiffened, but seemed to force himself to relax, shifting in his seat in a way that he tried to pretend was simply finding a more comfortable position, but was clearly an attempt to hide his discomfort.
“Ah, well, you see…”
“Did something go wrong?” Mikey asked, trying to make his words sound as sympathetic as possible. Clearly Donnie wasn’t having a good time, no matter what was going on, and maybe if Mikey made it clear that he’d be supported if something had gone wrong was what he needed in order to share what happened.
But Donnie shook his head. “Uh, no, actually th-the testing went perfectly! It was very informative, although I don’t know i-if any of you w-would think it’s interesting—”
“Cut the bullshit, Donnie,” Raph said sharply. “Which one of us is dying?”
Donnie’s eyes went wide. “What? No, no, nobody’s dying! Why did—what, why would you…?”
“Then what’s so messed up about those DNA samples, huh?” Raph demanded, volume rising. “Y’know, maybe we aren’t geniuses like you are, but we aren’t idiots! We know there’s something wrong that you’re not telling us!”
“N-nothing’s wrong!” Donnie insisted, voice rising to match Raph’s. “All of the samples suggested peak health, despite the fact that we’ve spent our whole lives in the sewers, which is actually quite remarkable when you think about—”
“Then what is wrong, Donnie?! If it’s not the DNA, what is it?!”
“I’m telling you, Raph, there’s nothing—”
“Oh, don’t give me that—”
“Why won’t you listen! Everything’s—”
“It’s me,” Mikey said softly, but the arguing continued over him, Leo, April and Casey not seeming to notice he’d said anything, let alone Raph or Donnie.
“You always do this shit! You act like you’re better—”
“Maybe there’s some things you don’t need to know! Have you ever considered—”
“GUYS!”
All eyes were suddenly on Mikey, his outburst startling the whole group. He didn’t want the attention now, the eyes on him seeming to burn into his skin.
Especially Donnie’s.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” he asked in a small voice, looking directly at Donnie. “There’s something wrong, or-or different, about me. Right?”
Donnie looked like he’d been slapped. He took a deep breath and looked around the table, frowning slightly when he saw April and Casey. “Um. April, Casey… thank you for the pizza, but I think this is a personal conversation between us…” He trailed off awkwardly, rubbing his left arm with his right hand.
April nodded and stood up, gently tugging Casey to his feet as well. “We’ll come back tomorrow, okay?”
“Sorry,” Donnie said, looking the most awkward Mikey had ever seen him, which was saying something, since most of his interactions with April were almost painful to watch. Everyone shifted awkwardly as the two humans left, and as soon as they were likely to be out of earshot, Donnie slumped forward.
There was ringing in Mikey’s ears. He didn’t know where it was coming from. All he knew was that he’d been right: something was wrong with him, something serious enough that Donnie didn’t think April and Casey needed to know. His heart felt like it was trying to push its way out of his plastron and his lungs felt like they were being squeezed. They were like water balloons filled too far, and the slightest bit of pressure could cause them to burst. He was still in the kitchen, seated at the table with his brothers, but everything felt a little bit fuzzy. Had he fallen asleep? Was he simply dreaming that he was here, waiting a million seconds for Donnie to speak again?
An arm was suddenly around his shell, the comforting weight bringing him back to his senses a little bit. Leo had slid his chair closer to him, although Mikey couldn’t remember when he’d done so.
He was glad that his big brother was there to comfort him.
“Alright, Donnie,” Leo said, his voice low, almost as if they were discussing something forbidden, something that shouldn’t be said aloud. “Now will you tell us what’s wrong?”
Donnie bit his lip and hesitated, but let out a sigh and began speaking slowly. “There’s nothing wrong, per se. No one’s sick or… or dying, everyone’s perfectly healthy, and I expect us all to stay that way.”
“You already said—” Raph tried to say, but Leo held up a hand, cutting him off.
“Go on, Donnie,” Leo encouraged.
Donnie took a deep breath before he continued. “I was mostly hoping to find any potential health risks in our DNA by studying in it, although I must admit that a part of me was simply excited for the fun of it… Uh, the thing is, there was something I found out that…” He paused, seeming to collect his thoughts. “Honestly, it shouldn’t mean anything. It isn’t something that impacts any of our lives, it’s just…” He looked between Raph and Leo, then let his gaze fall to Mikey, before returning to the elder two. “Before we were mutated, not all of us were related. Bio-biologically, I mean. Leo and Raph, the two of you must have come from the same pair of turtles. Mikey and I… we both had different turtle parents.
“That’s not all,” he continued when Raph opened his mouth again, seemingly prepared to cut Donnie off again. “When we were—I mean, well… when anyone or anything is mutated, the mutagen locks onto the DNA of the last living being that the mutated organism came into contact with. For example, April’s dad had been swatting at bats before he was mutated, erm, the first time.” He paused again, taking another deep breath. “I had assumed… reasonably, I would say, that the four of us all obtained our human DNA from Master Splinter. A-and that’s—that’s almost true, but—”
“But I’m different?” Mikey asked, whispered, really. It felt like the water balloons that had replaced his lungs had finally burst, icy water flooding his insides.
Donnie just gave a small nod.
“How, though? Where would it have come from?” Leo was saying, but Mikey wasn’t really listening. It was hard to hear over the rushing water in his ears.
“I’m not certain, but if I had to theorize, it was likely a pet store employee, or perhaps another customer…”
“Why only Mikey, though?”
“I’m not sure, Raph, although it’s possible…”
The words faded away as his brothers—no, wait, they weren’t brothers, were they? —continued speaking around him. He needed… he needed… he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that the cold water inside him felt bad, felt wrong, he needed to do something.
He was standing before he realized he had even moved at all, breathing heavily and leaning against the table, palms flat on the slightly messy surface, lightly coated in crumbs and pizza grease.
“Mikey?” Leo asked gently, and he turned to face his older—no, not brother—the… elder turtle. “Are you okay?”
He blinked a couple of times. Why was he being asked that…? “Uh, yeah, I’m fine! Ha ha, I just got a little bit dizzy!” He pleaded for them to accept it, not to interrogate him. He couldn’t handle that right now…
“Mikey,” Donnie spoke up, “You know this doesn’t change anything, right? The DNA results don’t mean that you’re not still our brother.”
Then why couldn’t Donnie meet his eye earlier? Instead of voicing that thought out loud, he plastered a smile on his face. “Don’t worry, Dee, I know! Jeez, and you had us all worried that you were gonna announce that we were all gonna die tomorrow or something. Psh.”
His brothers exchanged a look that he didn’t know how to decipher, and then Leo’s hand was on his shoulder. “Look, Mikey…”
He casually shrugged the hand off. “No need to worry, bro! I think I’m gonna go read some comics, though.” He picked up his plate, which still had two slices of pizza. Technically, food wasn’t allowed in their rooms, but that rule had never been enforced as much as it probably should have, and none of his broth—the others made any move to prevent him from doing so.
As soon as he was out of sight, he let the smile drop, his shoulders sagging. He honestly had no idea how he felt. It was as if the freezing water that had been inside of him had warmed up to a neutral temperature, but was still sloshing around, making him feel unbalanced.
Before he was out of earshot, he caught a comment from Leo that clearly hadn’t been meant for his ears. “Give him some time,” the leader’s tone carried out from the kitchen. “He probably needs time to process things, and then he’ll be himself again.”
He didn’t wait to hear what Donnie or Raph might have to say to that. He didn’t want to know. He couldn’t face it, not now. So he rushed to his room and closed the door quickly, abandoning his plate on a shelf before collapsing on his bed.
He didn’t feel like reading comics. He probably wouldn’t be able to, anyway, with the tears blurring his vision.
===
The next few days passed normally, for the most part. Mikey pretended like he wasn’t more aware of every mistake he made during training, how he couldn’t keep up with the other three, and it seemed his supposed improvements lately had just been a fluke. He pretended that he didn’t notice the looks his brothers the other turtles would send his way when they thought he wasn’t paying attention, how their eyes were full of concern even when their mouths were pulled into unwavering smiles. He pretended it didn’t sting a little more than usual when they were scouting out a new Kraang facility and Mikey was told no less than four times to not touch anything.
Everything was normal. Everything was fine.
And Mikey wasn’t going to do anything to give his—the family any reason to decide he wasn’t worth the effort anymore.
So, he smiled during the day, doing his best to not act any different from before. And if he’d toned down the pranks immensely, or not fought for the last slice of pizza, or gave up TV privileges to the others more easily, what did it matter? He needed to be less annoying anyway.
And if he went to bed earlier than normal, no one had to know that it was because he couldn’t handle being around the rest of them any longer, couldn’t keep up his act. His nights were spent restlessly, his mind plagued with worries about what he would do when everyone got sick of him and he could no longer call the lair his home.
The Mutanimals would likely let him stay for a few nights, but he couldn’t ask them to house him permanently. April would also let him stay temporarily, but staying in a human apartment for a longer amount of time would be too dangerous. Casey wasn’t an option; Mikey knew his home life wasn’t good to begin with, and doubted his dad would be accepting of a giant talking turtle asking to crash there for a while.
He could always hide away at the farmhouse, but he had no way of getting there on his own. Plus, if any of the others decided to visit, they’d find him. That wasn’t an option.
He decided that the best course of action would be to find a suitable part of the sewers on the opposite side of the city to hide in. That way he’d be out of his the brother’s shells, but would be close enough that he didn’t have to worry about moving his stuff too far.
If they let him take it with him.
He rolled over and pulled his blankets tighter around himself, begging his body to finally give in and pull him into unconsciousness. It was almost 9 am; they were expected to be up at noon due to their mostly nocturnal lifestyle. He needed the three hours of sleep he could still potentially get, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.
Groaning, he pushed himself out of bed and let the blankets fall in a messy pile on the mattress. Maybe getting some water would help his mind calm down enough to sleep.
Of course, it wasn’t that simple.
Donnie was in the kitchen, facing the wall where the coffee maker was positioned on the countertop. He turned around, mug in hand, and proceeded to spill it all over himself when he jumped at the sight of Mikey, clearly not expecting anyone else this late at night.
“Mikey!” he shouted, and then hissed, dropping the mug and shaking his burned hand. They both winced when the mug shattered as it hit the ground, and Donnie jumped back, trying to avoid the broken shards of ceramic that now littered the ground.
No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. This was bad. This was so bad!
He knew he should be checking on Donnie to make sure he wasn’t badly hurt, but Mikey felt like he couldn’t breathe. He ran from the room, trying to remember how to make his plastron rise and fall as he took in air, suffocating on nothing. He stumbled back to his bedroom and collapsed on the mattress, fumbling with the messy blankets he’d only just abandoned until they were wrapped tight around himself and pulled over his head.
His whole body was shaking as he sobbed, tears wetting the blankets and his pillows as he pulled his limbs into his shell, wanting to disappear. He’d gotten Donnie hurt and caused him to break a mug. If they hadn’t already decided to get rid of him, this was sure to seal his fate.
It couldn’t happen so soon, though! It had only been four days since they’d all learned the truth, he hadn’t had enough time to prepare! He wasn’t ready to lose the only family he’d ever known, to say goodbye to the people who he’d loved with all his heart, and had loved him in return.
The tears fell harder, his eyes stinging, the sobs growing uncontrollable, and he wailed.
“Mikey? Mikey?” He barely registered a voice as he pulled his head into his shell as well, not wanting to face whoever it was, not ready to lose everything. If he hid, maybe he could keep his life a little bit longer, maybe he could pretend it wasn’t all falling apart.
There was a pressure on his carapace, and he shuddered, unable to flinch away from the contact. It began rubbing small circles into his back, and the same voice spoke again. “Mikey, I’m okay. I wasn’t badly burned, and I didn’t get hurt by the mug,” came Donnie’s voice, but surely that wasn’t right. Where was the anger?
Donnie wouldn’t get mad at you for spooking him, a voice said, and he was tempted to believe it, but that was before Donnie knew the truth.
And Donnie was a scientist. If any of them were going to reject Mikey first, it made sense that it would be him.
So why was he here, rubbing Mikey’s shell in that comforting yet awkward way, with just a little bit of hesitancy that Mikey wasn’t sure Donnie noticed in his own motions? Donnie wasn’t good at comfort—although he was better than Raph—but when he tried to offer it, this was how it always went. Those uncertain motions, the calm statement of facts.
He managed to slow his sobbing to a controllable degree and poked his head back out of his shell, still wary that he’d been deceived somehow… but Donnie wouldn’t do that, would he? Donnie was a lot of things, but cruel was not one of them.
And he wanted to make sure Donnie really was okay.
His big brother the older turtle’s eyes lit up almost imperceptibly when Mikey looked up at him, and the first genuine smile Mikey had seen from any of them since they found out the truth appeared on Donnie’s face, even if it was small.
“I’m okay, see?” Donnie repeated, then held out his arm for Mikey to examine. He pulled one of his own arms out of his shell to carefully observe Donnie’s hand, which seemed slightly swelled and irritated, but far from the worst injury any of them had ever received. “It’s first-degree. I’ve gotten burned worse working on Metalhead,” Donnie assured him, and gently patted Mikey on his head as his tears were finally slowing and his lungs learned how to function once more.
“Sorry,” Mikey said in a small voice, wincing as he braced for Donnie’s next words.
“Mikey, you didn’t do anything wrong. I was just startled because no one else is usually awake around this time.” Donnie frowned as he seemed to remember something. “Speaking of that, is there a reason why you got up?”
Mikey didn’t want to admit the truth, didn’t want anyone knowing about his fears and his plans.
Why not? A voice in his head asked, and he didn’t have an answer for it.
“Had a bad dream,” he mumbled instead, looking away from Donnie as he eased the rest of his limbs back out of his shell.
Donnie gave him a look of sympathy. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Mikey shook his head.
“Was… was it about the DNA thing? Because if so—”
“I’m tired,” Mikey cut him off, not wanting him to continue whatever he was going to say. “I wanna try to get a little bit of sleep before training tomorrow.”
Donnie looked dissatisfied, but Mikey couldn’t bring himself to care when Donnie dropped the subject and stood up from where he had sat on the edge of Mikey’s bed. “Alright… but you can talk to me, okay?”
Mikey answered with a half-nod, half-shrug before shifting his blankets so they were more comfortable and placed his head on his pillow. He really was exhausted, and he felt his eyes closing heavily, feeling sticky from the now drying tears on his face.
He heard Donnie move towards his door, but the elder turtle paused before leaving. After a few seconds, Mikey was about to open his eyes and ask if Donnie needed anything, but the other turtle spoke up before he had a chance, his voice soft. “Love you, Mikey.”
Then he was alone in his room again, and he let himself be pulled into the darkness of sleep.
Spring Day Chapter Two
Author’s note: I’m writing this in between classes. This is so stupid I wish my job sent me to the actual class instead of signing me up for online classes. You must finish the class within the time frame and stay logged in if you finish early (which I always do). I have to take a test after this, but it shouldn’t be too hard.
Does anyone else want to see Master Splinter fighting drunk? Because that was hilarious.
I do not own TMNT.
Haley didn’t wake up until it was late in the afternoon. After eating and freshening up she joined the boys in training, but merely watched. April showed up twenty minutes later, dressed in her ninja attire and joined in on the training. While everyone was sparring Master Splinter joined Haley where she sat.
“Do you not wish to participate?” Master Splinter asked.
Haley shrugged, “Not really.”
“I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind if you did.”
“They’ve improved a lot.” Haley quickly said.
Master Splinter sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. “Yes they all have. I am very proud of what my sons and April have accomplished in a year.”
“You’re not proud of Casey?” Haley asked snickering.
“He is…something else.” Master Splinter shook his head and smiled subtly. “Do you not want to join because of your skill level?”
“My skill level doesn’t matter.” Haley said curtly.
“You are considered a master, Haley. You wouldn’t be participating, but teaching.” Master Splinter explained.
Haley laughed, “With all due respect Master Splinter. I am the last person you want to teach your sons.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
“Because I would teach them things like how to do a keg stand and how to play beer pong.”
“Fair enough. But you should still consider joining them. They need a good challenge since The Foot is no longer an issue.”
“I’ll think about it.”
She wasn’t going to think about it. They both knew this. Master Splinter sensed a shift in her aura, her spirit seemed to be on constant defense. Her whole body was rigid and stiff. Her eyes were focused and distant at the same time. He thought about asking Raphael, but Master Splinter knew his son wouldn’t tell him. Raphael wasn’t like that. He’d wait to get the whole story before confronting Master Splinter. Or he’d start throwing punches to get the answer.
Training ended and everyone decided to go out into the city. Mikey had egged Leo and Donnie into competition of flips and tricks leaving Raph, Haley and April behind.
“We don’t have school tomorrow. Do you wanna hang out?” April asked. Her arm was locked with one of Haley’s, walking toe in toe with a little pep in her step. “It can just be us. No boys and a bunch of junk food and horror movies.”
“That sounds like a party.” Raphael chimed in.
April looked over her shoulder with a smile, “No boys also means no you or your brothers.”
“That’s lame.” Raphael sarcastically rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. He knew how much April missed Haley. They were best friends and April was probably getting tired of hanging around a bunch of boys.
“Just no alcohol.” April warned.
Haley shrugged, “that won’t be a problem. I kind of stopped drinking and smoking.”
Both April and Raphael stopped in unison and bug eyed stared at Haley.
“You’re joking? You don’t drink anymore?” April asked. “What did Karai do to you?”
“Nothing really. There was just never any booze around and Japan is like super strict about teens drinking. I couldn’t even get one of her butlers to go get me some. And Karai didn’t like it when I smoked so I just quit.”
“That’s…who the hell are you?” Raphael asked astonished.
“I’m still me, just sober. I can still kick your ass and won’t give a single shit.”
“Hey guys.” Leonardo called them over with a wave of his arm.
Curiously the trio jogged to catch up to the others and instantly looked over the ledge. Below them was Rocksteady, Bepop and Rahzar carrying bags of money to a beat up old truck.
“This should be a piece of cake.” Raphael cracked his knuckles with a sly grin. He turned towards Haley who hadn’t budged from her spot, “you comin?”
She shook her head, “I’ll stay behind to watch your backs.”
“Watch our backs?” Mikey questioned, “with these dodos? Girl they’re easy to the peasy.”
“I’m staying up here.” Haley retorted dryly, crossing her arms over her chest and cementing her feet to the roof. The brothers and April glanced at each other before jumping from the roof.
Haley watched above as her friends easily overtook the three villainous mutants. She sighed, mainly out of boredom, and sat on the ledge of the building. She really wished that she hadn’t forgotten her phone. Maybe Karai would mail it to her if she asked nicely. She’d probably kill her because she was in New York and not where she said she was going to be. The Japanese warrior would just have to get over it. Haley really wanted her phone.
Her attention was snatched away when she noticed that Bepop disappeared. The others hadn’t noticed. She focused on the surroundings, looking for a glimmer of disfiguration to the building. When she noticed that there was a figure creeping up behind Donatello. Quickly jumping to her feet and off the building, she landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Everyone stopped fighting and watched as Bepop appeared as sparks flew from his suit. She stepped off him, picked him by his collar and tossed him towards Rocksteady. The two other mutants gaped at Haley for half a second before dropping the piles of money and ran away with an unconscious Bepop.
“Wow.” Donatello breathed, “I guess when you kill Shredder everyone is afraid of you.”
Haley’s mouth slowly shut and turned towards the fire escape and made her way back to the roof.
“I guess that’s still a touchy subject.” Mikey said as he tucked his weapons away.
“He brainwashed her and tortured her for a year, of course it is.” Raphael crossed his arms over his chest, “she is human or did you forget that?”
“Well, yea, kind of.” Mikey answered honestly. “I don’t think she’s a robot or anything, but the only real time she’s every showed emotion is when she’s drunk.”
“Oh she stopped drinking and smoking by the way.” April chimed in suddenly.
“What?”
Haley turned towards the collective shouts only to find herself getting engulfed in a group hug. “What the hell is happening? Get them off!”
Raphael and April stayed behind with cocky smiles, “No way. You need this.”
“What I need…is to breathe.” Haley struggled to say.
“Nope no way! We should celebrate!” Mikey shouted.
Haley had given up on trying to escape and continued to let the others to smother her. “Do I even want to know?”
“April told ‘em that you stopped drinking and smoking.” Raphael replied.
“It’s not really a big deal, guys. Really. People do it all the time. Can you guys let me go now?” Haley explained as she looked to Raphael and April for help. “If I agree to your slumber party will you help me out?”
“Of course.” April raised an arm and the boys—Leo, Mikey and Donnie—began to float in the air. With one swift wave of her hand they were pushed to the other side of the roof and gently placed on the floor.
“That’s cheating!” Mikey shouted and pointed a finger at the red head.
“I mean, I would have just done it if she had asked, but I won in the end.” April smiled sweetly.
“You guys are a bad influence.” Haley said as she took shelter in between Raphael and April.
“Uh huh, like you’re one to talk.” Raphael sarcastically said with deep eye roll.
Haley gasped dramatically, “Me? A bad influence? Why I never!”
“You’re so full of shit your eyes brown.” Raphael quipped.
“No, my eyes are blue.” Haley said dodging Raphael’s side kick. “I’m sorry but your answer is invalid. Please hang up and try again.”
“There is something wrong with you.” Donatello added, but went unheard because Raphael and Haley were busy fighting. “There is something wrong with the both of you.”
Author’s note: I’m ending it here because, one, I can and two because this chapter was going nowhere. Also, I AM FURIOUS. I KNEW THAT *SPOILERS* MASTER SPLINTER WAS GOING TO DIE. I FUCKING CALLED IT WHEN THEY BEAT THE TRICARATONS. FUCKING. CALLED.